The Hendersonville Utility District is one of only six local governments in Tennessee to receive the state comptroller's inaugural Financial Excellence Award.

Tennessee Comptroller Jason Mumpower announced the honor Wednesday, Sept. 30, recognizing the district's fiscal year 2025 performance across five financial-management categories tracked by the Comptroller's Office. Mumpower presented the awards at the Tennessee Government Finance Officers Association conference in Murfreesboro.

"These local governments are doing more than simply meeting requirements … They have demonstrated a strong commitment to maintaining financial practices that will serve their citizens and customers well into the future," Mumpower said in a statement from the Comptroller's Office.

The award is the Comptroller's Office's highest recognition for financial management among Tennessee local governments. To qualify, a local government must have adopted all required financial policies and show "no concern" on every financial metric the office tracks. The program is open to counties, metropolitan governments, municipalities, utility districts, municipal energy authorities and other utility systems subject to both audit and budget oversight.

Only five other governments met that bar: the City of Goodlettsville, the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, First Utility District of Knox County, Milcrofton Utility District and West Knox Utility District.

The district provides water and wastewater service to more than 14,000 homes and businesses across the greater Hendersonville area. Its membrane water treatment plant has a 10-million-gallon-per-day capacity, with current daily usage below 5 million gallons, according to the district's website.

Mumpower also praised the recipients as models for other local governments statewide. He said strong local governments are essential to a strong Tennessee and that sound financial management is at the heart of that success, according to Sumner County Source.

The award measures achievement in five specific areas: budgeting, debt management, financial management, financial oversight and accountability, and financial reporting and transparency. The program is administered jointly by the Comptroller's Division of Local Government Finance and Division of Local Government Audit.

The Hendersonville Utility District will also be recognized at the Tennessee Association of Utility Districts conference Oct. 29 in Gatlinburg. Residents can find the district's next Board of Commissioners meeting date and agenda at hendutil.net.